Today, America’s Recovery Fund Coalition (ARFC) launched a national Going Out of Business advocacy campaign highlighting the bleak economic landscape created by COVID-19, emphasizing the need for Congress to immediately create a Recovery Fund.
“It is time to accept our shared economic reality: America’s recovery will be long, slow, and, without further fiscal support from Congress, unnecessarily painful,” said Trevor Hanger, research director for ARFC. “With over 150 members from across all sectors, our Coalition is imploring Congress to help and to help now. All in all, our Coalition makes up 45 percent of the workforce, employing 58 million workers. And they are all asking for a Recovery Fund.”
According to the coalition, high unemployment, business closures, and reduced revenue for businesses that manage to stay open create a deflationary spiral that will prolong America’s economic recovery.
“The Great Recession has taught us that jobs are destroyed much more quickly than they are recovered. The Fed is forecasting high levels of unemployment for years to come,” added Hanger. “Without America’s Recovery Fund to help businesses retain employees while meeting other operating expenses, the continued loss of small businesses will have serious long-term effects on local communities in terms of employment, tax revenue, and the basic vibrancy of everyday American life. Congress must hear the voices of our members loud and clear and side with the needs of Main Street. Our elected leaders must create America’s Recovery Fund to guarantee our nation’s economic recovery.”
The Coalition includes over 150 organizations across a wide swath of industries including automotive, collision repair and insurance groups such as the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the Auto Care Association, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and others.
